High-performance computing (HPC) delivers large computational power over a short period of time. HPC may be measured in terms of floating point operations per second (FLOPS). In contrast, high-throughput computing (HTC) completes a large number of computational tasks over a long period of time, for instance, weeks or months. HTC employs multiple central processing units (CPUs) and memories in a distributed network. Software oversees the HTC network to effectively harness the power of the CPUs. An optical or photonic switch may interconnect the CPUs and memories and may therefore be a key component to implement a high-quality network. An optical switch is any device with inputs, outputs, and paths to connect the inputs and outputs in order to switch optical signals.